Mountain View, CA - January 20, 2011 - The chief executive officer of El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California, Ken Graham, has been awarded the 2011 Gold Medal Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), an international professional society of more than 30,000 healthcare executives. The award, the organization's highest honor for healthcare leaders, will be presented on Monday, March 21, 2011, at the Opening Session of ACHE’s 54th Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Chicago.
Given to Fellows of the American College of Healthcare Executives who best exemplify leadership at the organizational, local, state/provincial and national levels, the Gold Medal recognizes those who go beyond the confines of their own organizations to significantly improve healthcare services and community health.
Mr. Graham, a seasoned healthcare executive with 40 years experience, began his tenure as El Camino Hospital’s CEO in mid-2006, after serving 12 years as president and CEO of Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, WA. Under his leadership El Camino Hospital became one of the first California hospitals to meet the state-imposed deadline to create a seismically safe facility -- on time and on budget. The new hospital, opened in 2009, was proclaimed "the most technologically advanced hospital in the world" by Popular Science Magazine. Mr. Graham also led El Camino's first hospital acquisition and established El Camino Hospital - Los Gatos in 2009 when the former operator ceased operations at that site. Throughout his career, Mr. Graham has been a committed community leader involved with local, regional and national organizations, having served as a member or adviser to more than a dozen hospitals or healthcare organization boards. Among them was RotaCare Free Clinics, where he served as voluntary executive director. RotaCare is dedicated to providing more than a dozen free medical clinics to people who have the greatest need and limited access to medical services. Mr. Graham continues to serve on its board. In 2010, he was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the California Healthcare Policy and Data Advisory Commission. He recently served as a board member for the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California and for the Parkinson’s Disease Institute of Sunnyvale.
Mr. Graham has served on the California Hospital Association board of directors, ex officio; the American Heart Association, Silicon Valley board; and the Washington State Hospital Association board. He has been a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives since 1983.
Mr. Graham is a resident of Los Altos Hills and a charter member of the Palo Alto - University Rotary Club.
About the American College of Healthcare Executives
The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional society of more than 30,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. ACHE is known for its prestigious FACHE® credential, Congress on Healthcare Leadership conference, network of more than 80 chapters, educational offerings, publications, career development and public policy programs, and research. Based in Chicago, ACHE works toward its goal of being the premier professional society for healthcare executives dedicated to improving healthcare delivery. For additional information, visit www.ache.org.
